Pre-Cruise: We stayed a few days before the cruise at the Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo in the Santa Croce district (a 1 minute walk from the San Stae stop). The hotel was superb in every way. Embarkation: We took the vaporetto from our hotel to Santa Lucia and from there we walked to Piazza Roma where we took the Venice People Mover (1 Euro per person) to Tronchetto. From Tronchetto it was about a 10 minute walk to the terminal. Once we got to the terminal we were told that we had to take our luggage to another terminal building for processing (this was annoying since there were no signs indicating this - only a man at the terminal door). Once we came back to the terminal building we stood in line for about 5 minutes and received our sea passes. After that it was about 40 minutes before we were able to board the ship. Ship: The Gem is in great condition and was a real treat. On embarkation day we signed up for the "Chill Lounge Pass," which allowed us to use the spa's pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam rooms all week. This served as a nice getaway as the outdoor decks were swamped with young children and teens (apparently it was a UK school break) and there were rarely any free lounge chairs on the pool deck. The public rooms are great. The gym was never packed. We had an interior stateroom which was bigger than we anticipated. However, we were somewhat disappointed in that our room steward only seemed to make the bed and empty the trash. We actually had to request that our room be vacuumed and fresh towels be delivered. We were also disappointed in that we didn't get any towel animals. This was our first cruise in which the little critters did not appear. We had breakfast and lunch in the Garden Cafe and dinner most nights in the dining room. The food was pretty good - however, towards the end of the cruise the selection became monotonous. One annoyance is that several children and even some adults grabbed and handled food with their bare hands...Also, entertainment aboard the ship was great. We enjoyed all of the shows. Ports: Tendering - Be sure to get your tender tickets early. We were told by a previous cruiser to wait in line about 30 minutes prior to ticket distribution. We were glad that we did - because once the time came for ticket distribution there were scores of people in line. The queue extended from the art gallery, across the hall and down through the photo gallery on the other side. Dubrovnik - We walked the old city walls (Euros are accepted and the views are amazing), visited the Rector's Palace, the monastery, and visited the cathedral. Afterwards we did some shopping and had some great food. Dubrovnik is indeed the "pearl of the Adriatic."

Athens - We did Athens on our own. We walked 15 minutes (keep the port on your left) to the main train station (there is an escalator that takes you across the street into the station) in Piraeus. From there it is only about a 10-15 minute ride to the center of Athens. The cost is 1 Euro per person each way. We headed to the Acropolis first and then visited all of the corresponding sites (Agora, Roman Forum - free restrooms, Temple of Zeus, etc) afterwards. We had lunch on the Plaka and enjoyed people-watching. One word of advice - the trains heading back to Piraeus are jammed pack, so watch your belongings.

Izmir - We booked a private tour through Hello Ephesus. It was $190.00 for 2 people. We had a driver and an excellent guide, Mutulu. We left the ship around 7:45 and our itinerary consisted of the House of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus, Terrace Houses (a must!), a traditional Turkish lunch at a local carpet school (there was no pressure to buy any merchandise and the food was amazing), Temple of Artemis, The Basilica of St. John and the Ephesus Museum. We had some extra time and our guide asked us if there was anything else we would like to see; however, we elected to go back to the port and do some shopping. We were back on the ship around 3:30 p.m. Read more